Blizzard Timeline

Our anniversary website wouldn't be complete without an in-depth chronicle of Blizzard Entertainment’s long history. Twenty years is a long time, and much has happened since the company first opened its doors. We invite you to read on and join us on a stroll down memory lane.

Silicon & Synapse

1991
Silicon & Synapse, founded this year by Allen Adham, Frank Pearce, and Mike Morhaime, produces RPM Racing, the company's first game.

Software Developer of the Year

1993The Lost Vikings and Rock N' Roll Racing are released. The company is awarded "Best Software Developer of the Year" by VideoGames Magazine.

Chaos Studios

December 1993
The company changes its name from Silicon & Synapse to Chaos Studios. The year ends with eleven projects shipped. The company has moved into four different offices, and the staff has grown to fifteen people.

Davidson & Associates

April 1994
Davidson & Associates acquires Chaos Studios.

Blizzard Entertainment

May 1994
The company changes its name from Chaos Studios to Blizzard Entertainment.

Orcs & Humans

November 1994Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is the first game released under the Blizzard Entertainment label.

Blackthorne

December 1994Blackthorne is released.

Justice League Task Force

March 1995Justice League Task Force is released for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.

The Death & Return of Superman

June 1995The Death and Return of Superman is released.

New Campus in Irvine

August 1995
The company moves from a 3,600 sq. ft. office in Costa Mesa to a 14,000 sq. ft. office in Irvine, California.

Blizzard on the web

October 1995
Blizzard.com launches. The company finally has an official home on this newfangled "Internet" thing.

Tides of Darkness

December 1995Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is released. Oil prices skyrocket across Azeroth.

World of Warcraft in Russia

BlizzCon tickets go on sale. They sell out in less than 30 minutes, surpassing all previous BlizzCon ticket sale times.

Blizzard music on iTunes

September 2008
Blizzard game music is now available on iTunes.

Third BlizzCon

October 2008
The company hosts its third BlizzCon, in Anaheim, California. More than 15,000 fans get a sneak preview of Wrath of the Lich King, StarCraft II, and Diablo III, featuring the recently announced wizard class.

Wrath of the Lich King

November 2008World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is released. The game sells more than 2.8 million copies in the first 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. World of Warcraft hits 11 million subscribers worldwide.

Fourth BlizzCon

August 2009
The company hosts its fourth BlizzCon, in Anaheim, California. Thousands of fans get a sneak preview of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, StarCraft II, and Diablo III, featuring the recently announced monk class.

StarCraft II

July 2010StarCraft II releases with thousands of fans attending midnight sales. The next generation of Battle.net is unveiled.

Battle.net 2.0

August 2010
Battle.net becomes self-aware and begins monitoring pro players from across the world to learn their elite strategies. Surely nothing bad could come of this.

Fifth BlizzCon

October 2010
The company hosts its fifth BlizzCon, in Anaheim, California. Tenacious D rock the closing ceremonies, and a red-shirted fan makes Warcraft history. Literally.

Cataclysm

December 2010World of Warcraft: Cataclysm releases. The game sells more than 3.3 million copies within 24 hours of release, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time and breaking the previous record held by World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

Sixth BlizzCon

October 2011
The company hosts its sixth BlizzCon at Anaheim Convention Center. Players get a first look at the next World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria, as well as Diablo III, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and Blizzard All Stars.

Diablo III

May 2012Diablo III is released and sells more than 3.5 million copies within 24 hours, beating the record held by World of Warcraft: Cataclysm to become the fastest-selling PC game to date.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

September 2012World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria releases. The game sold through approximately 2.7 million copies during the first week of its release.

Battle.net World Championship

November 2012
The epic conclusion to months of intense competition plays out at the Battle.net® World Championship, where the world’s top 32 StarCraft® II players and top 10 World of Warcraft® Arena teams go head-to-head for the title of world champion.

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

March 2013
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm releases. More than 1.1 million viewers tuned into the company's 21-hour, global broadcast of launch events and community celebrations around the world, with peak concurrent viewership reaching over 125,000, as reported by Twitch. As of the end of its first two days of sales, Heart of the Swarm sold through approximately 1.1 million copies worldwide, including both retail and digital sales.

Diablo III: Console

September 2013
Blizzard returns to console development by releasing Diablo III for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation® 3 systems. The revised loot system, difficulty settings, and other updates are well-received by gaming press and players.

Seventh BlizzCon

November 2013
BlizzCon 2013 overtakes Anaheim with a storm of epic proportions. The fifth World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor, is unveiled alongside a fresh look at Heroes of the Storm, while competitors battle it out in the World of Warcraft Arena tournament and StarCraft II WCS Global Finals.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

March 2014
Hearthstone™: Heroes of Warcraft™, Blizzard’s free-to-play digital strategy card game, is released on several platforms. Deceptively simple but epically engaging, Hearthstone is designed to be instantly accessible to players regardless of their familiarity with Warcraft or collectible card games.

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

March 2014
Diablo III's Reaper of Souls expansion—is released, selling over 2.7 million copies in the first week of its availability.

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition

August 2014
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition is released. Legions of console players quickly discovered Ultimate Evil Edition makes it easy to experience Diablo in the best possible way: with your friends. The Ultimate Evil Edition contains both Diablo III and the Reaper of Souls expansion set, together in one definitive volume for the PlayStation®4, PlayStation®3, Xbox One™, and Xbox 360®.

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

November 2014
Warlords of Draenor launches worldwide. The expansion sells more than 3.3 million copies during its first 24 hours of availability.